May 29 Black Bear

We hummed and hawed about heading out in the evening. We spent the whole day in Fernie dealing with trucks and the kids had been late to bed the night before and Pheonix had school. But in the end we decided to stay closer to home so we wouldn't be home so late.



We drove and glassed...drove and glassed. Never finding much for bear or bear sign. I was starting to think this night was going to be an empty one. We went into an area that the dog hunters hunt frequently (we normally try to avoid these areas because the bears are more jumpy) thinking that they probably hunt the mornings so that they have a lower risk of losing a dog. We drove and started to find some scat here and there. So we drove up to a high landing and glassed and let the kids out to stretch their legs. After a few minutes Kyle says Bear! It was a beautiful cinnamon bear across the valley feeding on a landing of an old unused logging road that was growing in.

We quickly jumped back in the truck and headed that way. Kyle parked the truck on a switch back and stayed there with the kids while I went after the bear. It was at least a 500 yard stalk up on this bear, thankfully it was slightly windy so it hide the noise of my boots crunching on the loose rocks and blowing the right way so my scent wouldn't carry to him. He was so busy eating he had no clue I was there and was able to get to within 60 yards of him. I could have done it with my bow! But I had chose to take my rifle instead, murphys law I guess! I put my rifle up and got lined up and squeezed my trigger. Hit him perfectly, right where I wanted. He jumped and scooted down the hill. I called Kyle on the radio and told him I had a bear down. I walked over to the top of the hill and there he was laying on the bottom.

Kyle pulled up in the truck and the kids were all excited and wanted to see it. So I packed one kid after another down the hill. It was very cold, felt like snow in the air and you could see your breath. Kyle skinned it because I wanted the hide to tan and he is much better at it then I am. Easton was the first one to cave and wanted to go back to the truck because he was cold, so I packed him back up the hill to the truck. I came back down and helped with the rest of the skinning before Pheonix said she was cold too. So I packed her back up the hill to the truck and came back down. When I got back down Kyles back was sore, so I finished the quartering and we got it loaded on the pack. I put the pack on laying down and Kyle had to help me up and I was off back up the hill. Good thing I had a warm up running the kids up and down the hill beforehand.